Spud for dredges



A. NEVELING June 27, 1933.

sPUD FOR DREDGES Filed April 20, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet I June 27, 1933. A NEVELlNG 1,915,331

SPUD FOR DREDGES Filed April 20, 1932 5 Sheets-Shee'fl 2 65 2 ""HHHIM 'Illllllh www June 27, 1933. A. NEVELING 1,915,331

SPUD FOR DREDGES Filed April 20, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 ni ||||||||||||m||| n 6;/ j; 60 20 6?@ 596061 U/67u50?? June 27, 1933. A. NEVELING 1,915,331

s'PUD FOR DREDGES Fi1ed`Apri1 2o, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 A. NEVELING SPUD FOR DREDGES -F'iled April 2O, 1952 June 27, 1933.

Patented June 27, 1933 PATENT oFETcE .ALOYS NEVELING, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS SPUD FOR- DREDGES Application filed April 20,

This invention relates to improvements in dredges and particularly to a improved form of supporting member, commonly known as a spud, which is movable vertically with respect to the hull of the dredge for sustaining itagainsttlie bottom of a river or harbor in which the dredge is operating, Vso that the drcdgeis supported independently of its buoyancy upon the waterduring the operation ofthe digging bucket or other dredging .mechanism These spuds are commonly employed upon dredges and are adjustable vertically therein so that they may be moved downwardly and held against the bottom ofthe river or harbor by acable mechanism or the liketo provide a firm support for the hull of the dredge. They have herel tofore been constructed of steelplates and bars of various shapeswhichhave been unit- 720 ed with each other by riveting, but it has been found that these spuds of fabricated steel construction areV unsatisfactory because of their liability to break olf, usually just below the hull of the dredge, under the influence of 5 the severe lateral strains yto which they are subjected by the operation of the dipper handle of the dredge and the dipper or bucket carriedfthereby during the dredging operation, and, also, because the severe tor- 'sional strains to which these spuds are subj ected tends to shear off large numbers of the numerous rivets which are employed for holding the steel parts together, with the resultthat it has beennecessary, atfrequent intervals, to replace these rivets at great eX- V pense. 1f the parts of a structural steel spud be made strong enough to withstand the Astrains to which the spud is subjected when 0 in use, the structure is so heavy and unwieldy that it is difcult to operate and the original cost is excessive, without avoiding the necessity of replacing the rivets at intervals.

The principal obj ect of the present inveni tion is to provide a cast steel spud for. dredges, comprising an integral one piece structure having adequate strength to withstand the strains to which the spud is subjected in practice without excessive weight. A vfurther object of the invention is to provide a cast steel spud having great buoyancy 1932. Serial No. 606,411.

as compared with other spuds heretofore used. vA further object of the invention is to provide a hollow cast steel spud reenforced on its inner'slde by a plurality of ribs' and diaphragmswhich are integrally united with the walls of the spud. Still another object of the invention is to provide an integral cast steel spud having an inner chamber therein .for giving buoyancy to the structure when it is submerged in the water. A further object ofthe invention is to provide a cast steel spud having provisions for attaching operating pulleys or sheaves thereto. Still another object of the invention is to provide a cast steel spud equipped with means for attaching thereto a shoe or plate for increasing the bearing surface of the spud upon the bottom of the river orharbor. Other'objects relate to various features of construction and arrangement which'will appear more fully hereinafter.

The nature of the invention will be understood from the followingspeciiication taken with the accompanying drawings in which one embodiment is illustrated.

In the drawings,-

Figure 1 shows a somewhat diagrammatic side elevation of the front portion of a dredge equipped with the'improved spuds of the present invention;

Fig.` 2 shows a somewhat diagrammatic transverse verticalv section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a partial top plan view of the dredge within the limits indicated by the line 3 3 in Fig. 1;

Figs. 4 and 4a, taken together, show, on an enlarged scale, a complete side elevation of thev improved spud of the present invention;

Figs. 5 and 5a show a complete` vertical section through the improved spud, taken on the line 5*-5 of Figs. 4 and 4a;

Fig. 6 shows a top plan view of the improved spud shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 shows a transverse section taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 4;

Fig.8 shows a transverse section taken on any one of the lines 88 of Figs. 4 and 4a;

Fig. 9-shows a transverse section taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 4"-; l

Fig. 10 shows a transverse section taken on the line 10-10 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 11 shows a transverse section taken on the line 11-11 of Fig. 4a; and Fig. 12 shows a bottom plan View of the improved spud shown in Fig. 4a. n

As illustrated inthe drawings, vthe invention is applied to adredge v'15 comprisinga hull 16 which is adapted to rest upon and partially within the water ,17 overlying the bottom 18 of the river or harbor in which the dredging operations are taking Vplace. The hull 16 is adapted to be supported againstthe bottom 18, during the'dredging operations, by a plurality of spuds or vertical Asupporting members I20, embodying the 'features 'of the `present invention, whicliare r'vertically iadjustable so that they may `-loe withdrawn and carried 'well labove the -boti90 movablymounted upon vahoistingcrane'23 .comprisingra :boom :or `frame which projects --outwardly 'and l:upwardly :from the forward endof the dredge, in cantilever fashion, with :the flower tend thereof mounted :in a .vertical "35 bearing 24 carried byitherhull oftheldred'ge so that the crane may be swungaboutza ver- `tical-axis to var-.y :the 1kpositioneof the `dipper orbucketQl. A :large `pulleyis mounted `around :the lower part of 'the lcrane .'23 `and '40 the cable 26 extends around fthis' Vpulleyiand rearwardly to a drum -27,-operated `by mech- Y:Aimism v28,1s`o that the ipositioneofftheboom jmay befvaried by powerdrivenimechanisms 'when desired.y The stemfoftheidipperhan- "45 dle 22 is slidably mounted :in ia 'carriage 30 which isfpivotally mountediipon the frame fof the crane 23, substantially Fmidway :be-

tween the ends thereof. Thefhanille 122 is :capable` oflbeing movedfendwise 'through the -carriage T vby a cable 31 'which iis attached to the lower end of the handle and `which lpasses :around: a Vpulley 32 mounted lin "the carriage. This cable31 fpasses around :a -drum 34 'mounted at the lower fend vof the lcrane and driven by ianengine or 'motor '35, mounted on :the lower end fof the crane 23.V The .clipper v21-arnd Tflower being raised verticallyby afcablej37 whichis attahedto a yoke 38 1 having :pivotal connection with theupper side ofthe` dipper. This 39 mounted--atftlie outerfend of the'boonrof the-crane23." From'this pointfthezcable 37 extends downwardly and inwardly and movements. V-`channel Vby .removable .bars A58 .carrying rollaround another pulley 40 mounted upon the inner part of the crane 23. The cable 37 then extends downwardly and around a pulley 41 located in the hull 16, after which it is carried rearwardly and around a hoisting drum 42 positioned within the hull and operated bya power driven mechanism 43. The bucket or dipperr21 may he pulled inwardly 1toward .the hull 16, with a corresponding pivotal movement of the dipper handle 22, by 'means of a cable 45 which is attached to the lower part of the dipper arm and which is carried inwardly through a set of sheaves 46 attached rto the forward end of the hull. This cable then extends rearwardly over v.pulleys 47 and then downwardly around a -drum`48 driven bypowermechanism 49. In -this way the bucket or-dipper 2.1 iscapable yofvarious movements with respect .to .the -crane :23 which is Vitself capable of being .85 swung about avertical axis with respect Ato athe forward endof-the hull .16. fllheouter -send ofthis crane 23 supported by .cables .50 whichv are connected to the 4,upper end .o'f a supporting beam, 51. v This 'beam .isralso f connected rearwardly -to the .rear .or inter- :mediate portion of the hull by.cables52.

Thefhull 16 is provided on lits lateraLide, adjacent its `forward endwith inwardly extending recesses r55 in which lthe `supporting '10,5 imembers or spuds 20 areadapted .to .move

vertically, as s'hownrparticularly l2 and 3. A similar recess .or channel Vis Vpro- .vided toward the 'vrearaendV of the dredge .for vanother spud 2O whichis'locatedzniidway be- 1.00 tweenthe sides of the-hull,.thus providing 1a three point support -for the yhull .when these spuds lare 'moved downwardly-and he'ld k'against thebottom V:18. `Each channel -55 .lis provided `adjacent vth'e rupper 4and lower ends i @thereof with a seriesof .bars-56carryingrollvers gwhich are-adaptedpto .coact with the outer walls ofi-the spudduring .its vertical Each spud 4is iretained lin vits i :ers 59 which coact with theY outer lfaceszof lthe 1spuds, these bars being .held ,in positionby pinsf`60fengagingbrackets 61. Eaoh spul20 is moved downwardlyand .held against the bottom 18 vby meansof a cable A63 .which .has lits outer end secured in fixed position on'the :hull as shown at 64infFig. 2` and vwhichis then :carried upwardly and .around a sheave or -pulley 65-mountedrupon.theupper end ofthe spud, as shown in Figs. ,2 and 3. This cable 320 .6B-is then,carrieddownwardly on the inner side rof the 'spud' and is .passed Apartially around avpulley 66 rotatably `mounted onlthe hull adjacent A,the upperpartthereof. From this point, thecable 63Yextends downwardly 125 andinwardly and around adrum-67 forming a partof a rwinch 68 which ,is driven .by a motor or engine 69 vfor-thevpurpose of winding up the cable andtherebyforcing thespud Yd(.)WIlWa-Idly. As shownin 3.the shaft 3130 of the winch is connectedY through gears to both ydrums 67 so that the cables 63 for depressing the spuds on both sidesv of the `hull are operated simultaneously by the sam power driven mechanism.

Each sp ud 20 is elevated by a separate cable Y 'spud, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. Each cable 7 3L is then carried upwardly on the inner side of the spud and is passed around a pulley 7 6 locatedy alongside `the pulley 66 previously referred to. From the pulley 76,

the cable 73 is passed downwardly and around the previously described drum 67 located adjacent that side of the hull. The cables 73 are wound on the drums 67 in a direction opposite to the Vwinding of the cables 63 so that when the drums are operated to wind up the Ycables 73 and thereby elevate the spuds 20,

the other cables 63 are simultaneously unwound from the same drums. A shoe 78, shown in Fig. 2, may be detachably mounted upon the lower end of each spud in order to increase the bearing surface when the bottom l5 of the river or harbor is formed of mud orl other soft material.

Each spud 20 is of the form illustrated particularly in Figs. 4 to 12, inclusive, and comprises a pair of'oppositely disposed flat side walls which are integrally united with opposite disposed front and rear walls 8l, these `walls being arranged to forni a rectangular enclosure which, in this embodiment, is substantially square in form with the corners thereof somewhat rounded at the points where the walls are united with each other. At the upper end of the spud, the four rectangular walls are tapered inwardly to form an integral bracket 82, having side walls 82a and right angularly disposed walls 82", the latter being reenforced by ribs 82. These walls have parts thereof cored out to form a slot 83 adapted to receive the sheave 65 previously referred to. This sheave has trunnions 84 formed integrally therewith and these trunnions are journaled in bearings 85 carried by the upper end of the bracket 82 on opposite sides of the slot 83. Separate bearing caps 86 are secured to the lower portions of these bearings by bolts 87. The sheave 65 is thus journaled in the upper end of the spud and it is of such a diameter that the opposite sides thereof project beyond the side walls of the spud, asvshown in Fig. 5 to permit the cables 63 to extend parallel to these side walls without Contact therewith in normal operation.

, The side walls 80 of the spud are each provided with a pair of inwardly extending reenforcing ribs 88 which extend longitudinally of the side walls parallel to each other,

being provided with transverse flanges 88a at ltheir inner edges, so that they are T- shaped in'cross-section. Each ofthe front and rear walls 8l of the spud is similarly provided with a pair of longitudinal reenforcing ribs 89 spaced apart in parallel relation and having transverse'flanges at their inner edges to give them i"-sliaped crosssections. At theupper end of the spud, beneath the sheave or pulley 65, the walls 8O and 81 are united by an integral end wall or diaphragm 90 having a central oval aperture 91 therein which is surrounded by an integral or annular rib 90a formed as a part of the wall or diaphragm 90. The ribs 88 are extended transversely across the spud and united with the wall or diaphragm 90 as shown at 88b and the longitudinal ribs 89 on the front and rear walls of the spud are extended inwardly across the end wall 90 and united with the other ribs 88 as shown at 89b in Fig. 7. Other transverse walls er diaphragms 92, similar to the end wall 90, are formed integrally with the walls 80 and, 81 and spaced apart at intervals from the upper end of the spud to a point toward the lower end thereof where their form is modified as hereinafter described. These diaphragms 92 are in the Aform of fiat walls extending at right angles to th-e walls 80 and 8l and having apertures 93 through the central parts thereof which are circular in form and surrounded by annular fianges 92a formed on the diaphragms 92. These transverse walls or diaphragms 93 are united integrally with the longitudinal reenforcing ribs 88 and 89. The side walls 80 of the spud are provided between the end wall 90 and the first diaphragm 92, and also between adjacent diaphragms 92 with cored holes 95 which are elongated in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the spud, being surrounded by iny wardly extending flanges 95a formed integrally with side walls. Two of these holes 95 are preferably provided between two adjacent diaphragms 92, but between the upper diaphragm 92 and the end wall 90, a single large hole 96 is provided in one side wall 80 to serve as a manhole throughwhich a man may enter the interior of the spud to remove the cores of sand or the like which are employed in casting. Having entered through the hole 96, which is surrounded by an annular iiange 96, the workman may move longitudinally of the spud through the holes 93 which are large enough for that purpose. Substantially triangular openings 90b and 92b may be provided a-tthe corners of the diaphragnis 90 and 92, respectively, and other small elongated openings 90c and 92c may be formed througli the diaphragms 90 and 92, respectively, between the pairs of ribs 88 and 89, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, to facilitate the casting of the construct-ion in -one piece without danger of crackingthe .diaphragme y f i ,T-he lowermostl diaphragm 92, ofthefform `shown .in=Fig..-8, isllocated ashort distance .above the sheaveorpulley .f previously re- .Eerredftd At points immediately above. and :below the sheave.75,.thefrectangular walls, 8.0 .and l81 of the spud ,are `united .by ,integral .transverse di-aphr'agms95, which are solid continuous walls :extending 'between oppo- -sitely disposed .vertical Ewalls of vthe Spud. .Between :the transverse .-walls or diaphragms ,-95,.the -spudfis provided .with a transverse vertical slot y96 radapted to receive the shea-ve or pulley .75 previously :referred to.

This slot 961extendscompletelyithrough the vertical side walls `.of the spud -and is bounded on its-lateral sides-*by parallel verti- ,cal I.wallsor webs 97,fshown particularly in Figs. d@and 9,!thesewalls E17-being formed integrally with ;the side walls 80 and `also with ythe transverse -diaphragms fOne of these walls 97'is .in alignmentwith the fribs-88 formed on thefside walls and the other -side wall 97 Vofthe slot is in alignment with Atheends of twoother;pairs of,i'ibs `88 which are deflected inwardly -as shown at 98 in Figli?. The `frontr and back walls 81 of the -spud andthe walls 97 oftheslot 96 are also .formedintegrally witha hub 99 which has .bushings 1100 mounted therein `to -serve as .journals .for the` Shaft `101 which forms a bearing for :the .-sheave vor Apulley 75. The .hub 99 -isl enlarged. at itsfends yto -form rings `99a-which are integrally united withtheend -portions of the longitudinal reenforcing ribs 89, as shown in ZFig. 5a.. V4Cylindrical blocks 102.-'and =103;are-mounted 4sin-the hub .at'theends offthe shaftlflland areretained Ain place againstthe endsfoffthe bushings bymeans of'circulargplates 104 seatedinthe .eounterbored.outerends of the .hub 99 vand .held infplace by means offstuds .105. IIn this way the sheave or pulley; is detachably r mounted l.withinfthe lower .part of thespud .and maybe .readily removed .by de-taching the cover plates 104 and withdrawing the rshaft1101. 'The walls 97 forming thesides ofthe slot 96 are provided with coredholes 106 surrounded'by annular flanges 106, as shown in Fig. 5a. Circularcored Vholes 107 ,are vformed in .the side walls "80 of the spud between the vtransverse diaphragms 95', with annular flanges 1071l extending inwardly Iaround them. 'These `holes are preferably closedby eoverrplates 108 which are welded iniplace f The. portion ofthe spud lyingzbelow vthe lower .diaphragm 95 is tconstructed .to provide anair chamber whiClnis-.adaptedto give buoyancy .to fthe spud when it is submerged '.belowthe surface ofthe water,-thus counterbalancinga portion of its .weightand vreduc- .ing the=energyrequired to effect-.theadjustmeut thereof. At `:its extreme lower eend, Vthe throughsurrounded `by Spud is providedwith a transverse .end kwall :110 which is preferably relatively thick-and .which .is Vprovided .with a downwardlytapered projection 110?, -provided with sharp- `end `wall tothe vertical walls of the spud when it Vis .pressed against vthe 'bottom 18.

.Theregionbetweenthis end wall 110 and4 the lowermost vtransverse tdiaphragm 95 constirtutes an air chamber 112 which isvintersecteld .at an intermediate point by a transverse diaphragm 113 similar in construction tothe This diaphragm has an aperture /114therean annular rib 113.1. Ther-ibs 88,1formed on-the walls 80,`arecon .tinued-through this ypart` of the-spurly and are enlarged at their upper and Ilower ,ends

where-they are united with the lowervdiaphragm 95 and the bottom wall110,A respectively. .Thereenforcing ribs 89 on the front 'and rear wallsofthe spud are also continued through the air space 112. The side walls 80 of the spud are provided withcorec v.holes "115 which are surrounded by franges 115 .di-

rected inwardly. These holes are closed, after the coreshave been removed "from fthe vinterior ofthe spud, by plates 116 whichare `welded .in position thereover. I .treme lower end of the spud, .two kof these holes ,115 are provided in each :of the front and `rear `walls 81,-and these are similarly closed by plates .116. Oneof Ithe side walls -80 ofthe spud is provided with a manhole 117, .surrounded by an enlarged ring of metal 118 which -is counterbored to .receive lthe-coverplate ,119 held in placeby aseries of cap .screws or'stud bolts 120. `By removingthis yplate 119, a workman may get into the airchamber 112 forthepurpose of re- .moving the'cores at 'the end of the casting operation, andthe hole.11/1 in the diaphragm 113 is large enoughto permit him to workin .the upper part of the air chamber.

Adjacent its lower end, the spud 20 is lprovided with `a. transverse hub which .is

formed intevrally vwith thevside walls 80 .and

Aarranged to extend continuously throughfthe Spud, as shown in Fig. 11. Thefends of this hub are provided with cylindricalr bearing portions 1255*, adapted to vbe engagedby a pin or bolt for securing in place a shoe 78,

such as that shown inFig..2, which is adapted r.

adequate .strength to withstand all. of? the-L4.

.diaphragm92 in the upperpart ofthe spud. 5.85

stresses to which it is subjected when in use without excessive weight and the effective weight of the spud when it is partially submerged is greatly reduced by the provision of the air chamber in the lower part thereof. rIhe novel construction and arrangement of the transverse diaphragms reenforces the spuds against the effects of lateral stresses and this reenforcement is accomplished without interfering with the removal of cores and the like at the conclusion of the casting operation. It has been found that a spud of this construction three or four feet in cross-section, sixty feet long and weighing thirty-five tons or more, may be cast as one integral construction Without defects in any of its parts and, not only does the original cost of such a spud compare favorably with the previously used spud made up of plates and bars riveted together, but the cost of maintenance is very greatly reduced because there are no Vparts which become loose and have to be replaced.

Although one form of the invention has been shown and described by way of illustration, it will be understood that it may be constructed in various other embodiments within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A spud for dredges comprising a single cast steel member having an integral sheave bracket at the upper end thereof and an integral sheave supporting hub toward the lower end thereof.

2. A spud for dredges comprising integrally united vertical walls having integrally formed reenforcing ribs on the inner sides thereof.

3. .A spud for dredges comprising vertical walls cast integrally with each other and provided on their inner sides with integral parallel longitudinal ribs.

t. A spud for dredges comprising vertical walls cast integrally with each other and provided on their inner sides with integral parallel longitudinal ribs having transverse flanges along their inner edges.

5. A spud for dredges comprising integrally united vertical walls having longitudinal reenforcing ribs on the inner sides thereof, and transverse diaphragms integrally united with said walls and with said ribs.

6. A spud for dredges comprising integrally united vertical walls having longitudinal reenforcing ribs on the inner sides thereof, and transverse diaphragms integrally unitedv with said walls and with said ribs, said diaphragms and certain of said walls having holes therethrough surrounded by inwardly extending annular flanges.

7. A spud for dredges comprising integrally united cast vertical walls, a pair of transverse diaphragms extending continuously between and united with said walls, two of said walls being provided between said diaphragme with longitudinalslots, and integral webs extending between said diaphragme to form side walls extending between theedges of said slots.

8. A. spud for dredges comprising integrally united cast vertical walls, a pair of transverse diaphragms extending continuously between and united with said walls, twoof said walls being provided betweensaid diaphragms with longitudinal slots, integral webs extending between said diaphragms to form sidewalls extending between the edges of said slots, and integral hub portions united with said webs and with two of said side walls for supporting a sheave inserted between said webs and projecting through said slots.

9. A spud for dredges comprising integrally united vertical walls, a pair of transverse walls extending continuously between and united with said vertical walls, said vertical walls having cored holes therethrough, and a relatively large manhole, coverplates welded over said cored holes, and another coverplate detachably secured over said manhole.

l0. A spud for dredges comprising integrally united vertical walls, a pair of transverse walls extending continuously between and united with said vertical walls, said Vertical walls having cored holes therethrough, a relatively large manhole, coverplates welded over said cored holes, another coverplate detachably secured over said manhole, and an integral bearing hub extending continuously between two of said vertical walls and united therewith.

In testimony whereof, I have subscribed my name.

ALOYS' NEVELING. 

